litcatp

Hi I have a 2001 Silverado that I just bought last week. Last night I noticed a clicking noise coming from the front wheel on the driver side. It sounds like metal to metal, like something is hitting the rims. It speeds up and slows down with the speed of the truck, and does not go away when turning or braking. I get the noise in 2wd or 4, and I took off the tire last night and could not find anything loose. I just had new tires put on yesterday, could that have anything to do with it? Thanks.

therewolf

First(easiest stuff) assuming you're driving on pavement, check for a nail or screw in your new tire. (Yup, click,click,click!)

DNK what the mileage is litcatp,(welcome to the Chevrolet Forums, BTW)but assuming the brakes on that side are OK, then either your wheel bearings or driveaxle is suspect. Bearings you can probably service yourself, but the driveaxles are replaced as a set. Look under there with a flashlight and see if the rubber cv boot is still OK or cracked or in tatters. Usually the joint lasts until the grease surrounding it goes bad...

litcatp

Thanks for the quick reply! I will check that when I get home tonight. I just had the vehicle checked out earlier this week and they said the brakes were all good (10% wear on pads, I think). The truck has about 155,000 miles on it, and I am not sure if regular maintenance was done on it since it still has the original shocks. Another thing about the click, though, is that I can only hear it after I have been driving for a while.

therewolf

I used to drive a company truck at an auto auction, that f-150 would get 12 screws in the tires a week or more. The truck usually sounded like a tap dancer rolling down the rows of cars.

That's sounding more like possibly your transaxle though, sorry.

Mike Sigmond

I bet its your ISS shaft, 80% of Chevy trucks have that problem, unless you found a nail or something like that.

litcatp

Just got back from my mechanic. He said it was a bad rear U-joint on the front drive shaft. I drove it around for the last 30 min and the sound is gone so that must have been it.

Mike Sigmond

Nice! thanks for the update.

therewolf

That's getting off fairly inexpensively. It's always great to have a mechanic you can trust. Spread the word, it sounds like he deserves the business.